


Not Ready to Say Goodbye

by VicesVsVirtues



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Amy's back, End of season one, F/M, Speculative, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 12:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15510324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VicesVsVirtues/pseuds/VicesVsVirtues
Summary: What if Lucy never went to see her mom before the mission to get Amy back...





	Not Ready to Say Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RunningInThePouringRain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunningInThePouringRain/gifts).



> So, this turned out WAY longer than expected. It was supposed to be fluffy and sarcastic, but ended up being a bit of a hefty beast.  
> It's a mixture of fluff, sarcasm, angst, and all the rest (I think so anyway).  
> I honestly hope you love it!  
> I want to thank my goats for keeping me going when I thought I was going to quit or just give up. You're all amazing and oh so talented.
> 
> It's not been beta'd, so any mistakes are all my own!

 

Lucy wasn’t sure how to react to Wyatt’s declaration about not being ready to say goodbye, and was thankfully spared from responding by Mason walking past engrossed in whatever was on the screen of the tablet in his hands.

“Ah, the lifeboat will be charged and ready to go in three hours my friends.” He didn’t even stop as he spoke.

As they smiled at each other, Lucy considered going to her mom’s house to see her one last time, but she decided against it. As hard as it was knowing that when she came back, her mom would be terminally ill again, she decided that she didn’t want to remember her as the effervescent woman she had been given the chance to get to know once more.

“Hey, you okay?” Wyatt asked her, worry flashing across his blue eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to find something to do to distract me for the next three hours.” Lucy felt her face heat as she considered one thing she could do, but she didn’t think Wyatt would be interested in  _ that. _

“Let’s go find Rufus, and grab some coffee. It’s not very often the three of us get some downtime.”

He wasn’t wrong. Lucy couldn’t remember the last time she could simply sit and relax. Following Flynn through time had been exhausting, and while it gave her Wyatt and Rufus, any possibility of a social life had evaporated.

She followed Wyatt to the launch area where Rufus was sitting at his computer watching the lifeboat charge.

“Hey Rufus, you busy?” Wyatt asked the pilot as he stared at the screen in front of him.

“Not particularly, why?”   


“Come and hang with us while that thing charges.”

“Hang? Are you twelve and watching Saved by the Bell?” Rufus snorted as he pulled himself out of his seat.

“Hey! Zach was the man!” Wyatt bit back, making Lucy laugh at the pair of them. She was going to miss them both once Amy was back and they weren’t working together.

Although, from the way Wyatt had spoken earlier, before they’d been interrupted by Connor, she wasn’t sure if they would see one another again. With the Rittenhouse arrests still ongoing, and Flynn in jail, there was no reason for them to remain in contact, was there?

The three of them made their way to one of the conference rooms where there was always a full and fresh pot of coffee. Wyatt poured a drink out for the three of them and they sat down at the table.

“Why does this feel like the beginning of the end?” Lucy blurted out as she wrapped her hands round the hot cup. She could feel two sets of eyes on her from the moment she started speaking.

“Maybe because it is. Is that a bad thing?” Wyatt asked, his voice soft.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I feel as if my life’s about to tilt shift, and I don’t know how to deal with that fact.”

“Are things going to be so different? I mean, yeah. Wyatt’s going back to the military and Lucy will probably go back to teaching, but we’ll stay in touch. Right guys?”

Lucy caught Wyatt’s eye quickly before they both agreed with Rufus. Deep down, she knew it was highly unlikely she’d spend time in their company once they were done with time travel.

“So, Lucy. How are we gonna get your sister back?” Wyatt asked her, changing the subject with subtlety.

“I need to make sure that my mom and Henry Wallace meet. Mom always said that it was love at first sight, so as long as they meet, Amy should be back.”

“And your mom will be sick again.” Rufus finished her sentence for her.

Sadness washed over Lucy at the thought of her mom, lying in that bed, an echo of herself once again. It had killed both her and Amy to watch the woman who had loved and encouraged them to wither away, to become a ghostly shell of the formidable woman she’d always been.

“I wish I could prevent that, but I can’t. At least I’ll have Amy and we can be there for each other again.”

“Tell us about the famous Amy. You talk about her so much, yet never actually tell us anything.”

Lucy grinned at Rufus’ statement. She’d missed her sister more than she’d ever thought possible.

“She’s smart, she has a degree in sociology, and a black belt in karate. She has no idea what to do with her life, and that’s only one of the reasons I adore her. Amy’s kind hearted, sarcastic as hell, and doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her, and although I never told her, her podcast is funny as hell.”

Wyatt watched Lucy’s face come alive as she spoke about her younger sister. He couldn’t help but be enthralled by how happy she looked just speaking about Amy, he couldn’t wait to see what she’d be like once Any was back in her life.

“You’re drooling.” Rufus muttered to him as Lucy stood to fetch more coffee.

“What?” Wyatt tuned to look at his fiend to see a wide smile on his face.

“You’re staring at Lucy and drooling.”

Wyatt glanced over to see if Lucy could hear them. She was seemingly oblivious.

“Shut up Rufus!” He hissed, making the pilot laugh even more.

“You love Lucy. Admit it.” Rufus just looked at him, smiling at the way Wyatt squirmed in his seat.

“What you guys talking about?” Lucy interrupted them as she placed fresh coffee in front of them and sat back down. Rufus chuckled and assured her it was nothing as Wyatt sat in silence, feeling his face heat up.

:: ::

As soon as the door to the lifeboat was open, Lucy had jumped out of the ship and was bombarding Jiya and Agent Christopher with questions.

“My sister? Is she okay? Did our mission succeed?”

“Your sister? Amy? According to her records she lives at home with you and your mother. What happened on the mission?” Agent Christopher looked worried at the tears flowing down Lucy’s face.

“Nothing of consequence.”

Wyatt stood behind Lucy, his hands on her shoulders offering her some sort of comfort. She may have been crying, but the smile on her face was wide and bright.

“So, why are you asking about your sister?” Jiya looked at the three of them, confusion written all over her face. Ignoring her, Lucy turned to Wyatt and Rufus, flinging her arms around them both.

“We did it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Both of you, so much.”

The two men wrapped their arms around Lucy as she cried and laughed all at the same time. Eventually, they released her and looked at Agent Christopher, Connor, and Jiya. All three of them were smiling, but it was obvious they had no idea what was going on.

“Lucy, you go home. We’ll deal with the debrief.” Wyatt pushed her towards the lockers and showers.

“Thank you.” Standing on her tiptoes, Lucy placed a kiss on Wyatt’s cheek, gave Rufus’ hand a squeeze, and disappeared from the launch area.

“Does someone want to explain what’s going on?” Agent Christopher asked as they all watched Lucy walk away.

:: ::

Lucy sat in her car outside her mother’s house for a full ten minutes before she mustered up the courage to approach the front door. Walking from her car, she tried to practice what she would say to Amy to prevent her from realising that Lucy had lived without her for all this time, and that any memories the younger Preston sister had weren’t shared.

Nothing she planned to say could prepare her for entering the house and hearing Amy’s voice floating down for their mom’s room as she read to the terminally ill and constantly sleeping Carol Preston.

She stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, just listening, drinking in the sound of her sister’s voice. It was just as familiar to her as her own, and she had missed it more than she had ever been able to verbalise.

Moving into the kitchen, Lucy realised she was starting to spiral into panic. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she typed out a text with shaking hands.  _ I can’t do this alone, will you come over? _

Wyatt’s affirmative response made her phone beep in less than a minute which instantly made Lucy feel better. She busied herself with making herself a sandwich and a fresh pot of coffee, hoping Amy would stay upstairs until Wyatt arrived.

With the grace of a herd of elephants, Amy descended the stairs just as there was a knock on the front door.

“I’ll get it.” She called out, her voice happy and relaxed. “Oh, hey Wyatt. Did you forget your key or something?”

“Uh…” Lucy was just as confused as Wyatt sounded. She could hear the pair of them walking towards where she stood, trembling from head to toe.

“Hey Luce, how was work?” Amy grinned at her as she stole half of the sandwich that had been abandoned in front of Lucy. “And how come you got back before Joe?”

“I.. er... “ Lucy had no idea how to answer that question. Not only did she have no idea how much Amy knew about her work with Mason Industries, but the Wyatt element of the question completely threw her; even worse was Amy referring to him as Joe.

“I’m guessing the nausea again.” Her sister didn’t even seem to notice as she grabbed the rest of Lucy’s sandwich and walked over to seat herself on the sofa on the other side of the room where her laptop rested on the small coffee table in front of it.

“What the hell is going on?” Wyatt hissed at her as the pair of them stared at the younger Preston sister. “Why did she call me Joe? Please don’t tell me we changed history that much, my name is different.”

“I have no idea.” Lucy hissed back, finally finding her words. Following Amy, she sat in the chair opposite her sister. “Sickness?” She asked, her voice squeaking slightly.

“Seriously, has pregnancy brain got to you already? You’re only at twelve weeks Luce, stop conforming to stereotypes.” Amy looked up from her laptop. “Before you left for work this morning, you had your head down the bowl for at least a half hour. I honestly don’t know how you cope with it.”

“Yeah, neither do I?” Wyatt spoke, a stunned look on his face.

“And you…” Amy turned to face him. “Stop hovering over her. She’s pregnant, not dying. You’re one of those overbearing fiancees and it’s driving me insane watching you. Let Lucy breathe, it’s better for her and for the baby; you can’t be ‘super dad’ just yet. Save that for when my niece or nephew is actually here.”

Neither Lucy nor Wyatt knew what the hell to say.

:: ::

Lucy sat on the huge bed in the bedroom she now apparently shared with Wyatt trying not to hyperventilate. Her mind was at war with itself; as much as she adored having her sister back and some semblance of her old life - despite her mother lying in the bedroom next to her, dying - but with far too many differences for it to be comfortable to her.

“Hey, are you okay?” Wyatt’s voice made her jump. She looked over to find him leaning against the door frame.

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

Wyatt entered the room, closing the door behind him, and sat next to her on the bed.

“It’s a bit much to take in, I get that.”

Lucy was going to protest that he didn’t get it, but it occurred to her that he was most likely the  _ only  _ person who did. This affected him just as much as it did her.

“Understatement of the century there Logan.” She commented, completely deadpan.

“We’ll work it out, together. I promise you that.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to lean against him. “One thought did occur to me though.” His tone of voice had gone from strong to nervous, it was this change that caused Lucy to pull away and look at him. She didn’t need any more complications in her life.

“What?”

“Amy said you’re supposed to be pregnant in this timeline, but we were in the lifeboat and the past when everything changed…”

“Am I actually pregnant?” Lucy worked out what he was trying to say. “Honestly, I doubt it. Nothing else changes for us when we jump, why would this be any different?”

“I don’t know, but how do we tell your sister the truth?” Wyatt asked gently.

“We don’t… at least not yet. As far as I’m concerned, Amy’s back and that’s all I need, but things are still different from what I expected. I want to be able to trust my life as it is now.”

“That makes sense. I’ll follow your lead.”

Lucy had never been so relieved to have Wyatt Logan in her life as she had right at that moment; and they’d been shot at multiple times.

“Thank you.”

Before Wyatt could respond, Amy stuck her head around the door of Lucy’s room.

“I’m out for the rest of the evening. Will you sit with mom for a while?”

Lucy felt instantly guilty as she hadn’t been to see her mom since she’d walked into the house almost two hours previously.

“Of course.”

“Thanks Luce. See ya Joe, look after both of them.” Amy aimed at Wyatt before disappearing back downstairs. A few minutes later, they heard the door close behind them and they were alone.

“Joe? Why does she keep calling me Joe?”

Lucy couldn’t help but collapse in a fit of giggles at the look of confusion on Wyatt’s face. It felt good.

:: ::

Lucy relished the silence in the house as she sat on the couch in the den with a book abandoned to the side of her. Usually, when her mind was in overdrive, sitting down and losing herself in a book was the only way she could relax, but things were different.

All she could think about was despite having Amy back, things were different. For so long, she’d wanted nothing more for life to return to how things were before being picked up by Homeland Security that night that seemed so long ago, but now she wasn’t sure if they’d done the right thing. Her mom was once again in palliative care, and her life had been flipped on its axis.

“Hey Luce, you okay?” Amy had returned from her evening out and had joined Lucy in the den with two mugs of hot chocolate.

“Yeah… just… I actually don’t know.” She turned to look at the sister she had missed for so long. More than anything, she wanted to pull Amy into a tight hug and hold her for a few moments, but managed to control herself.

“What’s up? Nervous about the baby?”

Lucy had managed to forget about the ‘baby’ as she sat next to her mother’s bed, rambling nonsense at the unconscious woman.

“No. I just can’t seem to switch off tonight.” Watering down the truth wasn’t a lie, not exactly.

“Come on. Tell me all about it.” Amy put her cup on the table in front of them and made herself comfortable. The action brought a lump to Lucy’s throat;  it was something she used to do whenever Lucy had a story to tell her about being at college or when she had boy problems.

“It’s nothing serious, honestly.”

There was no way Lucy could tell Amy the truth about the work she did with Mason Industries, how she thought she was starting to feel about Wyatt, and that she wasn’t pregnant. Everything was a complete mess and she didn’t have an idea how to make it right again.

“Luce. You do know you can talk to me right? Just because you and Joe out there have this new chapter in your lives happening,” Amy jerked her head towards the kitchen where Wyatt was watching a football game, giving Lucy space to work her rampaging thoughts out, “I’ll still always be there for you.”

“I know Amy, I know.” Tears filled Lucy’s eyes. Amy’s compassion was one of the things she loved most about her sister. “Oh, why do you keep calling him Joe?”

Amy looked at her strangely before speaking.

“Remember when we cleared out the attic after dad passed and we found that stupid GI Joe doll he’d had since he was a kid?” Lucy laughed as she nodded. That event she  _ did  _ remember. “Well, you said at the time that it looked like Wyatt, so me and mom called him Joe ever since. He  _ hates _ it, so naturally, I keep doing it.”

Lucy was struck dumb. Henry Wallace, the man she’d always considered her father, had died almost eighteen years previously. She hadn’t known Wyatt that long ago, so how could he have been in her life enough for her to compare a doll to him?

“Yeah, I remember.” A partial truth, but enough to make Amy smile as Lucy stood up. “I’m getting a headache, I’m going to go to bed.” She bent to give her sister a kiss on the forehead, as she had done so many times before… everything. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sleep well.”

Lucy left Amy on the couch and walked into the kitchen to rinse out her cup. It was only when she saw Wyatt, fast asleep on the couch at the end of the kitchen, that she remembered they were supposed to be engaged which meant they would be sharing a room and a bed.

“Crap.”

:: ::

The following morning, Lucy woke to the smell of bacon filtering up to her room from the kitchen. As she walked through the house, she could hear Amy’s voice chattering away. She paused in the hall to listen, hoping to glean some information of the new life she seemingly had.

“Joe, you okay?” Amy’s voice was full of concern. It was clear from the tone, she was fond of Wyatt and cared for him a lot.

“Stop calling me Joe. And yeah, I’m fine.”

“I’ll never stop, and you know it. No, seriously. What’s going on with you and Luce? You have a fight or something?”

“Why would you think that? Everything’s fine.” Lucy could hear the hesitation in Wyatt’s voice. He was being careful with what he said so as not to arouse Amy’s suspicions any more than they already were.

“You  _ never  _ sleep on the couch. Plus, you two have been really distant with one another. You’re usually so much more tactile; constantly touching each other. It’s quite sickening actually, but you’ve been like it for years.”

The splutter from Wyatt at Amy’s use of the word ‘years’ made Lucy want to laugh. She’d not had a chance to get over that nugget of information, and now Wyatt was being subjected to it.

“We haven’t had a fight. I crashed watching the game. Yesterday was a long day at work.”

“Hmmm…”

Convincing Amy was going to be tough. Lucy made a mental note to get Jiya to research their lives for them as she entered the kitchen. Thanks to her eavesdropping, she was able to mask her surprise when Wyatt greeted her with an arm around her waist and a quick kiss to the lips.

“Morning.” She murmured as he gave her waist a squeeze before he went back to preparing breakfast.

“Morning. Did you sleep okay?” Amy asked as she sipped at the large cup of coffee in front of her. It was clear from her tone of voice that she wasn’t fooled by Wyatt’s answer about thing between he and Lucy, and the smile on her face didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I slept like a baby. I didn’t realise how exhausted I was until I got into bed.” Lucy admitted as she poured herself her own coffee. “How’s mom?”

“She had a good night. A nurse is coming out this morning to do the usual checks and to give her a bed bath; the usual.”

Lucy felt guilty at returning her mother to this state, but it was, as she had said to Wyatt during their jump to save The Hindenburg, it was supposed to happen. Her mom was supposed to be struck down in her prime with aggressive lung cancer, not living in this house without Amy having ever existed. It was a catch-22 situation, and Lucy felt like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Had she made the right choice? Was having Amy back worth her mother’s life?

“... isn’t that right Luce?” Amy’s voice shook Lucy out of her internal discussion.

“Sorry, what?” Lucy shook her head. She hadn’t heard a word that had been spoken in the past five minutes. She could see Wyatt looking at her, a look of concern on his face.

“Nevermind. Look, I gotta go to work. I’ll see you both later, okay?” At their nods, she gave Lucy a kiss and saluted Wyatt before leaving the house in a dash.

“She’s a regular whirlwind, isn’t she?” Wyatt asked, laughing.

“Always was, always will be.” Lucy couldn’t help but join in.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he slid a plate of pancakes in front of her.

“Honestly? I don’t know. I’m second guessing my decision to get my sister back. It’s all I’ve wanted since this entire thing started up, but now I’m wondering if I made the right choice.” Lucy could feel the tears building in her eyes, but she kept talking, trying to ignore the thickness in her voice. “Is my mom’s life worth so little to me that I just put her back in her deathbed?”

There was no fighting the tears that streamed down her face and she dropped her head into her hands and wept. Within seconds, Wyatt had moved to her side of the island and had wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in to rest against his chest.

“Hey, hey. Don’t work yourself up like this. There’s no rules to the lives we’re now living, and we’re constantly going to second guess ourselves.” He stroked her hair as she sobbed into his shirt.

“Why should I have to sacrifice one person I love for another? It’s not fair.”

Wyatt’s hands were warm against her back as he pulled her closer to him. He didn’t say anything, he simply held her and let her cry.

:: ::

With Garcia Flynn in prison, things on the time travel side of their lives was quiet. Lucy and Wyatt were, for the first time in a while, at a loss with what to do with their time. Amy was in and out of the house for her podcast and her volunteer work at a local homeless shelter, which left Lucy sitting with her mom a lot. Although the older Preston was in a constant sleep due to the meds she was being pumped full of, and never responded, Lucy spoke to her constantly.

She told her all about her confusion about Wyatt; about how she was growing to care about him more than she ever thought she would… should. About how much he loved his wife, about how he would do anything to get her back. About how he’d hinted that he was open to leaving the past behind and to new possibilities. About how she loved hearing that, yet how scared she was by the change in him and what it meant for the two of them.

While Lucy spent time with her mother, Wyatt sat in the kitchen listening to the indistinguishable mumble of Lucy’s voice as she spoke to her mother. He couldn’t exactly go back to his apartment, as in this timeline, he no longer had one. It had completely blown his mind that as far as everyone around he, Lucy, and Rufus were concerned, he and Lucy had been a couple for years, were engaged, and were expecting a baby.

He had an entire life in this house that he knew nothing about. His clothes were here, his belongings, and he had been integrated into the Preston family, welcomed with open arms, according to what he and Lucy had been able to glean from Amy without raising her suspicions.

It had been three days since they’d come back from their jump to find their lives were completely different. They’d been so busy trying to fool Amy, they hadn’t had any time to speak to Rufus or Agent Christopher about anything else that could be different, if anyone else’s lives had changed as much as theirs had. It was surprising to the both of them how easy it started to become in such a short space of time.

In order to prevent Amy from thinking there were problems within their ‘relationship’, Wyatt had been sleeping on the floor of Lucy’s bedroom in an old sleeping bag. Lucy felt guilty about him having to lay on the floor, but he insisted that it was something he was used to, and that the tick carpet in her room was better than any rocks in Kandahar.

They would both lie in their beds and just talk, trying to work out what they had done that had changed their timelines so drastically. Neither of them could pinpoint anything. All they’d done was to ensure Lucy’s mom and Henry Wallace had met. Nothing more. They hadn’t even interacted with anyone else while they were in the past.

“I think we need to go in and speak to Agent Christopher.” Wyatt murmured in the darkness, trying not to think of Lucy in her shorts and tank top. “She keeps files on all of us which change whenever something in our original timelines changes. We could ask to see ours and try to work things out from there.”

“You’re right. We’ll go to Mason Industries tomorrow.” Lucy yawned as she spoke. “Good night Wyatt.” She whispered as she tried not to think about the fact that Wyatt Logan was in her bedroom dressed in only a pair of boxers. With that image firmly seared upon the inside of her eyelids, she rolled on to her side in an attempt to get to sleep.

The following morning, as Wyatt showered, Lucy sat in the kitchen nursing a fresh cup of coffee.

“Do you have any plans today?” Amy asked as she flicked through the newspaper in front of her.

“Wyatt and I are going into work.” Lucy was vague as she wasn’t exactly sure how much Amy knew about their work with Mason.

“Great. Say hi to Rufus and Jiya from me. I’m going to be editing today, so I’m home all day. There’s no need for the two of you to rush back.” Amy winked at Lucy, clearly hinting at her and Wyatt spending time together away from the house. As Amy stood to clear her breakfast things, Lucy realised that Amy had mentioned Rufus and Jiya as if she knew them and was friends with them. Finding out exactly how much her sister knew about Mason Industries was yet another thing to add to her ever-growing list of questions she had for her friends and Agent Christopher.

She finished her coffee and made her way upstairs to have her own shower. With her mind on other things, she pushed open her bedroom door and caught sight of Wyatt. Naked.  He hadn’t heard her, so she was able to back out of the room and close the door in silence, but the image of him in all his glory was imprinted on her brain. As she slid down the wall into a heap on the floor outside her own bedroom, all she could see as she closed her eyes were tan lines on Wyatt’s hips.

The door opening made her jump and bang her head against the wall behind her.

“You okay?” Wyatt asked, his voice thick with confusion, as he looked down at her.

“Yeah, fine.” She could feel the heat in her face as she pulled herself to her feet, avoiding eye contact. “I’m just going to have a quick shower, then I’ll be good to go.”

“Great. I’ll grab a coffee while I wait.” With a confused look, Wyatt walked past Lucy and carried on down the stairs while she rushed into her bathroom, where her senses were assaulted by the scent of Wyatt and his shower.

The twenty-five minute car journey had been no better. The air surrounding Lucy was full of Wyatt. As she took inconspicuous deep breaths, she opened the window despite the cold air outside. When Wyatt pulled into a parking space outside Mason Industries, it took all her strength not to jump out of his truck and gulp in the cold air to clear her senses.

“You okay Lucy?” Wyatt asked, his deep voice soft with concern at her actions.

“Yeah, I’m good. Shall we go and find out about ourselves then?” Lucy led the way inside the large building. With a shrug, Wyatt followed her.

:: ::

“Hey man, how’s things going?” Rufus gave Wyatt a fist bump as the two friends hugged as if they hadn’t seen one another for months.

“Yeah… things are… okay. A bit weird, but we’re both getting there.”

“Weird how?” Rufus looked at the pair of them, confused. Neither of them had been in contact with the pilot, as agreed beforehand, after their last jump to allow Lucy time with Amy.

As they waited for Agent Christopher to get out of her meeting, Lucy and Wyatt filled Rufus in on the changes in their lives, including the fact they’d been in a relationship for years, were engaged to be married, and Lucy was apparently pregnant.

It took Rufus a full five minutes to stop laughing.

While waiting for their friend to calm down, Wyatt looked around the large room, the lifeboat sat in the centre, at the Mason industries staff. It felt like it had been forever since he’d been here, the last time just before they’d taken the jump to bring Amy back.

Leaning against the desk behind him, Wyatt simply watched the other people in the room mill around, working hard. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Agent Christopher up in the conference room, pacing and gesticulating with her arms. He was more than glad he wasn’t in the room with her, at the end of her possible anger.

Chuckling to himself quietly as Lucy and Rufus chatted, Wyatt watched a couple of techs walk across the launch area. Something about the way they moved caught his attention, but he couldn’t put his finger on why. As he watched, the two men stiffly approached the lifeboat, running their hands over it as if testing for weak spots.

It was almost too late when he saw the device in the hand of one of them. The flashing red light blinked as it was attached to the underside of the time machine.

“Get down!” Wyatt yelled as loud as possible as he grabbed Lucy and Rufus, pulling them to the floor under Rufus’ desk. Seconds later, the building was rocked by an explosion bigger than the Delta Force soldier had ever experienced. As screams filled the air, Wyatt lost consciousness.

:: ::

Lucy sat in the chair at the side of Wyatt’s bed, waiting for him to wake up. Although he’d not been injured too badly by the debris caused by the explosion, he’d banged his head pretty hard on the corner of the desk as he’d covered Lucy’s body to protect her. The doctors had assured her that he hadn’t suffered any lasting damage, but being knocked unconscious for five minutes, and his drifting in and out of sleep was a cause for concern. It was why, three days after the explosion, Wyatt was still in hospital.

Thanks to his split second warning, no one had been killed other than the two men who had planted the bomb, but many were injured, including Jiya. She hadn’t quite been able to get under her desk fast enough, allowing some small shards of shrapnel to embed in her face. She’d gone through a two hour surgery to remove all the small pieces of metal, some of which were precariously close to her eyes. Rufus hadn’t left her bedside much in the way Lucy hadn’t left Wyatt’s.

Agent Christopher had held crisis meetings as soon as she could after the blast, and the general consensus was that Rittenhouse had resurfaced and now that Garcia Flynn was in prison, had taken control over the mothership for reasons unknown. Because of this, she’d allowed news articles of the explosion vaguely assume that there were few survivors. Lucy and Rufus had been allowed to phone their families to let them know that they were okay, but it wasn’t enough for Lucy. She wanted Amy with her.

Agent Christopher was moving them to a safe house as soon as Wyatt and Jiya were cleared to be moved by the medical staff, but until then, they were holed up in a hospital not far from Mason Industries under assumed names, surrounded by undercover Homeland Security agents.

Lucy wanted to ask Christopher if Amy could be brought to the safe house with them, but knew her sister wouldn’t leave their dying mother. It also meant that Amy would have to learn the truth, about everything. More than ever, she wished Wyatt was awake so she could ask him what he thought about it all.

:: ::

Wyatt finally woke up properly twelve hours later, his head hurt more than any migraine he’d ever had before. Pulling himself into a seated position, the darkness outside giving him an indication of what time it was. He scanned the room, silent save for the monitors, to see Lucy asleep in the plastic chair at the side of his bed. For some reason, the sight made his heart jump and a warmth to spread through his body.

Ever since they’d come back from 1979, Wyatt’s feeling for Lucy had grown. He’d tried to ignore them after  _ that  _ kiss in front of Bonnie and Clyde, feeling guilty about Jess. His wife, his love of his life, was never coming back and it was all his fault. He didn’t deserve to fall for someone new, especially not someone as caring and thoughtful as Lucy Preston. She was too pure to be tainted by him and his past.

“Hey, you’re awake.” Lucy sleep filled voice filled the room, making him jump. He’d been so caught up in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed her sit up.

“Yeah. I have a hell of a headache though.”

“That happens when you try to be a hero and knock yourself out on the corner of a desk.” Lucy rolled her eyes, but her smile gave away how much she was teasing him.

“How long have I been out?” He asked, trying to ignore how her stretching affected him, especially when her top rode up to flash a thin sliver of flesh at her waist.

Three days, on and off. Whenever you did wake up, you were groggy and not fully aware what was happening around you.” Lucy filled him in, trying to play down how worried she was. As she finished speaking, Rufus stuck his head around the doorway of Wyatt’s room.

“Hey man, great to see those baby blues open and alert.” The pilot entered the room. As he sat down, Lucy took the chance to take a break from Wyatt’s bedside and grab a shower and something to eat. The moment she was out of the room, Rufus began talking.

“Lucy’s been worried about you. She hasn’t left your side since the explosion.” The words filled Wyatt with a warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time. “She’s been sat in this chair the entire time, only leaving to use the bathroom and the vending machine.”

Wyatt didn’t know what to say to his friend, didn’t know how to react to what he was being told.

“How is everyone else?” He decided to try and process the information at a later date and check on the rest of his team. Rufus got comfortable and filled his soldier friend in.

:: ::

Agent Christopher organised a car for Lucy to go home and have a shower. They’d sat and spoken for almost an hour, during which the Homeland Security agent gace the historian permission to tell Amy the truth. While Lucy had been sat in Wyatt’s room, Agent Christopher had put feelers out for hospice care for Lucy’s mother in a ‘just in case’ scenario.

Lucy wanted Amy to join them when they were all moved to a safeplace to hide from Rittenhouse and the threat they now posed to their entire team. Agent Christopher thought it would be a good idea to prevent Amy being used as a pawn to distract Lucy. It all depended on whether the younger Preston sister would be willing to leave their mother in the care of others after so long.

Lucy stood outside the front door of her mom’s house for a full five minutes before letting herself in, echoing how she’d felt that first night after the mission to get Amy back. She felt nervous about telling Amy the truth about what she was doing with Mason Industries and the whole time travel thing. Running it through her head, she knew she was going to come across as insane, but she  _ needed  _ her sister to know the truth, to know what Lucy had experienced, how much she fought to get Amy back.

Taking a deep breath, she finally let herself in and walked into the kitchen to find Amy, who was fixing herself a meal while the nurse was up with their mom.

“Oh my God, Lucy! You’re okay.” Amy rushed over and flung her arms around Lucy, pulling her in tight. “I’ve been so worried. How’s Wyatt doing? And there’s no problems with the baby?” Despite the phone call assuring Amy that everything was okay, Lucy could tell that her sister had been worrying about them all.

Naturally, in this timeline Wyatt and Lucy were a couple, so of course Amy would worry about him too, and the non-existent baby. It was time to tell Amy the truth, and the thought of that made Lucy feel sick.

“Yeah, Wyatt’s good. He’s going to be absolutely fine.” Lucy sat on a stool at the breakfast bar and prepared herself. “But, I do have a few things to tell you.”

“That sounds ominous.” Amy joked, but when she glanced at Lucy’s face, she dropped her own smile. “Lucy, what’s going on?”

“I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer it without bombarding me with questions of your own. I’ll explain once you answer it.” When Amy nodded, Lucy took another deep breath and spoke. “Exactly how long have I known Wyatt?”

“About twenty years. You met him when he was starting his training. He attended one of mom’s history lectures, brushing up on his military history. You were in that class, and he took an instant liking to you. When he went back, you stayed in contact. He moved back after dad passed away to be there for you, for us, and you’ve been together ever since. You got engaged last year, just before mom’s diagnosis.”

“What would you say if I told you that I only met Wyatt around ten months ago?” Lucy waited.

“I’d say you’d lost your damn mind.”

“I wouldn’t blame you, but it’s true.”

Lucy spoke, telling Amy the entire truth, for a full half hour. When she was finished, tears were running down both of the sister’s faces. Lucy from the relief of finally having Amy knowing everything, Amy from finding out that her life was a lie and that it was possible Lucy’s life was in danger.

“So, this Rittenhouse. Who is it?”

“It’s not so much a who as a collection of. It started out as a single man, but it soon became like a cult.” Lucy shivered at the memory of meeting David Rittenhouse. “We don’t know who’s in charge right now, and we don’t know exactly why they’re targeting us at Mason, but we can only assume it’s something to do with Emma Whitmore. Garcia Flynn brought her back from the past to bring down Rittenhouse, but when he was arrested, she was long gone with the mothership.”

“That’s another thing I’m struggling with. Time travel… the fact that you talk about it in such a blaze way freaks me the hell out.”

“Because I’m used to it, well… it’s become ingrained in my life that I’ve accepted it’s never going to end. I’d hoped it would with Flynn in prison and you back home, but with this new attack and threat, it’s clear that’s not happening any time soon.” Lucy took a deep breath. “That’s why Agent Christopher wants us to go into a safe house. Somewhere Rittenhouse can’t find us, and I want you to come with me.”

“What about mom?” Amy asked the question Lucy had expected. She explained about the hospices Denise Christopher had been vetting. They’d decided together, when their mother had got worse, that they wouldn’t do that to her, but it was the only way Lucy would be able to get Amy to agree to come with her; and even then she wasn’t sure her sister would.

Once again, both of them had tears rolling down their faces. Lucy was worried that Amy wouldn’t come with her to stay with their mom, and Amy was worried that their mom would be a target if left alone in the world. When she verbalised that fear, Lucy wrapped her arms around her younger sister and tried to think of something positive to say to reassure her.

“These places… is Agent Christopher positive that mom will be safe and well looked after?”

“One hundred percent. There’s no way she would have recommended them if she wasn’t.”

“I do think she would be better off somewhere like that. As selfish as it sounds, we’ve been caring for her for so long, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a life. I mean, you and Wyatt moved in with us to help me.” Amy realised what she was saying. “Wait… you didn’t, did you?”

“No, we didn’t.” Lucy could hear the sadness in her own voice and wasn’t sure what exactly she was sad about. The fact that only Amy knew of her and Wyatt as a couple or the fact that she wanted more from Wyatt than he could give her in her timeline.

“Lucy Preston. You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Although her voice was soft, Amy was smiling and had a wicked glint in her eye. Lucy groaned and dropped her head into her hands. She had forgotten just how well Amy could read her.

“I’m a mess. Ever since I met him there’s been this… connection I guess; but all he wanted was to bring his wife back, like I wanted to bring you back, but nothing we did worked. Until now. I feel guilty as hell, but he’s also changed, and I don’t know how to feel about it.”

“Lucy, I’ve not known this Wyatt for very long, but in all honesty he looks at you the exact same way the guy I’ve known for years does. He’s constantly aware of where you are and revolves around you, looks out for you. Before you say it, yes a lot of that is down to his training, but not all. The guy loves you, is  _ in  _ love with you, and from what you’ve told me today, has been for a long time.”

The older Preston sister didn’t know how to react to Amy’s words. She tried to ignore the hope that flared in her chest at the thought of Wyatt having feelings for her.

“I’m sure you’re wrong, but what’s more important now is getting things in motion for mom.” Lucy changed the subject, but knew it wasn’t the last she and Amy would be discussing Wyatt Logan.

:: ::

It took less than a week for Carol Preston to be moved to a hospice facility approved of by Agent Christopher and both Amy and Lucy. Homeland Security agents had been placed undercover inside the facility to protect Carol Preston until her passing. It was still a possibility that she could be a Rittenhouse target at some point to force Lucy and Amy to reveal themselves, and in turn the rest of the team.

The moment Wyatt and Jiya had both been given a clean bill of health, each team member was escorted home to gather their belongings read to move into Agent Christopher’s top secret safe house. Naturally, Amy, Lucy, and Wyatt went home together.

The moment Lucy entered the house, she could feel the difference now that her mother, and all the equipment keeping her alive, were no longer present. The complete silence was overwhelming and as she packed her clothes and some basic necessities, tears streamed down her face in the privacy of her bedroom.

Wyatt walked into the bedroom, took one look at her, dropped his empty bag by the door and wrapped her in his arms.

“I know it’s hard, but it’s for the best. Your mom’s being well looked after and we’re going to be safe.” He spoke softly as he rubbed her back.

“I know that, it’s just so quiet in here. This house hasn’t been this silent in years.” Lucy didn’t move, savouring the feeling of Wyatt’s arms around her. The warmth radiating off him seeped into her bones and soothed her more than she could have imagined.

“That was the worst thing after… coming home to an empty apartment that was still full of reminders of a past life. Getting used to that was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do.” Lucy was glad Wyatt didn’t mention Jessica’s name; she didn’t think she would have coped in the moment with hearing about his dead wife, regardless of how sympathetic he was being.

“I just want to get my things and go. My life isn’t in this house any more. It doesn’t feel right.” Finally, Lucy pulled away from him and slowly began to gather her things. She could feel him watching her for a few seconds before he began to move and get his own things together.

In the short space of a half hour, all three of them were stood in the hallway to Lucy’s mother’s house, not quite ready to leave it yet, even Wyatt had become attached to the building. That might have more to do with Lucy and Amy more than the house itself. He knew that his feelings for Lucy had changed drastically, and the addition of Amy into the mix had shown him another, more playful side to Lucy Preston that he’d never seen before.

He was sorry that they were going to lose their mother, most likely when they weren’t with her, but he was glad they had one another to lean on.

“I know it’s hard, but we really need to get going.” Placing his spare hand on the small of Lucy’s back, he led the Preston sisters outside to the waiting car. He stowed their bags into the trunk as Amy climbed in next to the driver.

Lucy hovered to the side of him, not wanting to distance herself from him just yet. She knew she was using him as an emotional crutch, but she still needed him.

“It’s going to be okay. Not right away, but one day. I promise you that.” He told her, turning to look into her red-rimmed eyes.

“I believe you, even if I don’t see how it’ll happen.” Her voice cracked as she fought to hold back even more tears. Now was not the time for crying.

“I wouldn’t have believed anyone, but it does gradually get easier.” Once again, he pulled her into his arms in an effort to try and take away some of the pain that was crippling her.

“Thank you for being here. I would never have got through the past few days without you.” Lucy looked up at Wyatt, noticing his usually bright blue eyes looked a shade or two darker as they flickered over her face, lingering on her lips.

Without saying anything, Lucy stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick, soft peck on the lips. That swift moment of contact seemed to unlock something in the both of them and they crashed back together in a clash of lips, tongue, and teeth.

“I know neither of you are quite ready to say goodbye yet, but can you get your asses in this car so we can get to our new home and I can hide away while you two make out all night. I’ve lived through it once, I don’t need to do it again.” Amy’s voice broke the moment, but rather than feel embarrassed by her words, the two of them smiled softly at the another, a silent promise hovering between them.

:: The End ::

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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